Cologne, Germany: Non-medical circumcision ruled unjust

A regional court in Germany has ruled that parents who have their sons circumcised for religious reasons, or any other reason not warranted by a medical condition, can be brought before a judge. According to the judgment passed at the District Court of Cologne, parent’s rights and/or religious freedoms do not justify the act of circumcision on a child.

The case that prompted the ruling took place in Cologne, when a 4-year-old boy, circumcised by a Muslim doctor, began bleeding two days after the surgery and needed to be brought into the emergency room.

Both Jews and Muslims circumcise their sons, as Abraham circumcised his sons, and while Jews are commanded to perform the circumcision on the eight day after the child is born – unless there is a concern for the baby’s health – Muslims wait until the child is older.

There are currently 200,000 Jews living in Germany, 5,000 of which live in Cologne.